The second season of X-Men '97 wasted no time in delving into its time-traveling premise, with the premiere episodes immediately confronting the titular mutants with the tyrannical rule of Apocalypse in the distant future. Central to this confrontation is the mysterious figure known as Mother Askani, the leader of a rebellion against Apocalypse in the 40th Century. Voiced by Gates McFadden, Mother Askani is presented as a wizened, cloaked figure whose powers seem to echo those of Jean Grey, suggesting a possible connection to the Phoenix Force.
It is revealed that Mother Askani orchestrated the X-Men's temporal displacement, saving them from their demise at the end of season one and transporting them to pivotal moments in time to aid in the fight against Apocalypse. Her actions lead to the X-Men confronting Apocalypse in the 40th Century and eventually sending them to the 1990s to continue the pursuit, with assistance from Nathan Summers, also known as Cable.
The true identity of Mother Askani, long a subject of speculation for fans familiar with the X-Men comics, is confirmed to be Rachel Summers. Rachel is the daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey from an apocalyptic alternate reality, first introduced in the 1981 comic storyline Days of Future Past. In her native timeline, Earth-811, anti-mutant efforts led to the rise of the Sentinels, and Rachel endured life in a mutant concentration camp alongside familiar X-Men characters.
Rachel's comic history involves using her abilities to send Kitty Pryde back in time to alter the past and prevent the dystopian future. While this act created a branching timeline, it did not alter her own future. Subsequently, Rachel traveled to the present day and joined various X-Men teams. She later found herself displaced once more, this time flung 2,000 years into the future where Apocalypse had already conquered the planet, prompting her to initiate a rebellion.
In this future timeline, Rachel, as Mother Askani, brought her "brother" Nathan Summers (Cable) to aid in the war against Apocalypse. She also created a clone of Nathan as a contingency and facilitated the raising of Scott and Jean's consciousnesses within host bodies for a decade. This particular comic arc eventually saw Rachel and Scott return to their respective timelines, while Cable defeated Apocalypse and traveled even further into the future to rescue his sister. Rachel Summers has since primarily resided in the X-Men's present timeline, participating in various comic storylines as recently as 2020.
While X-Men '97 season two may not mirror the full extent of Rachel's comic book journey up to 2020, the reveal of Mother Askani as Rachel Summers strongly suggests the character's arc will continue to explore her comic book origins and likely conclude with her return to the 1990s by the season's end. 
